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Would it be possible for the Arts Festival to make still more use, on future occasions, of facilities and talents that are available locally?
(c) Additional Auditorium: The pressure on the use of the City Hall Concert Hall and Theatre is well known to Councillors, Many organizations have been denied of the use thereof, and many programmes have had to be held in venues that are not entirely suitable. The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, which the Council is helping to gradually become professional, does not have a proper place for its rehersals.
If the space over the existing machine rooms between the high and low blocks could be used, an additional auditorium could be added. A preliminary study made by a structural engineer has shown that it is possible to have a stradding structure over the machine rooms. The interior arrangement could take the form of the experimental theatre (known as "The Space") in the Adelaide, South Australia, Festival Hall complex. A space of 50' x 50' would provide a very flexible auditorium which could be used by young artists for their debut and many other cultural activities. The rest of the space could be used for other purposes, as well as for the expansion of the City Hall library, especially the Listening Library.
With this addition, the City Hall Select Committee can begin to achieve all its aims as listed in the Statement. And by taking certain performances out from the Concert Hall and Theatre, the Council could increase the number of hirings to the public.
Only then the City Hall can become a real Cultural Centre of Hong Kong.
(d) I wish to congratulate the staff members of the Cultural Services Section of the Department. The programs they have prepared throughout the year are in themselves an Arts Festival. Many of the programs are of very high quality and I do wish more Councillors would give them their personal support. On all occassions invitations are issued by the Council with the co-sponsors to selected guests. The presence of Councillors would enhance our contacts and could avoid having occasions when there are guests without hosts.
(viii) I strongly support the proposal to visit other cities to observe what other councils do for their people so that we can be of better service. Excellence is an ellusive quality. It is easy to recognize but difficult to attain. Let us not be too proud to learn.
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(ix) With the above comments, Mr. Chairman, I support the motion before Council. (Applause).
MR. WONG SHIU-CHEUCK (in Cantonese): -Mr. Chairman, over the past two years, the Urban Council has proved through its actions its ability to discharge the many functions entrusted to it by both the Government and the public. Very significant progress was made on various fronts, particularly so in the field of recreation and amenities. Whilst we should guard against resting on our laurels, it is fair to say that the progress made on recreation and amenities has had an uplifting effect on the quality of life led by the hard-working people in Hong Kong.
us.
Nevertheless I am only too conscious of what still has to be done. At this very moment we have a challenge of the first order in front of And by this I am referring to the cultural complex we plan to build on the site of the present railway station in Tsim Sha Tsui. Hong Kong has long joined the league of big cities first in the com- mercial field and then in the industrial field. But what about the cultural field? I am afraid that here we have not much to be proud of and a lot to be ashamed of. A lot of the cultural facilities which are regarded as basic in big cities in the world simply do not exist in Hong Kong. We have had criticisms on numerous occasions that Hong Kong not only does not have much of a cultural history but also does not have much of culture itself. With these criticisms I entirely concur. We must have our Cultural Complex at Tsim Sha Tsui.
The present estimates suggest that this project will cost $215 million and, given the current inflation, we could expect to see this figure escalating to even higher levels. The general fear now is that in the present state of economic recession and financial stringency, this project, which is the responsibility of the Hong Kong Government, will be shelved for a long long time, so much so that it might never get off the ground. And this is precisely why I am raising the subject today. Let us face it: a project of the size of the cultural complex is always a problem whether it is in a period of boom or in a period of recession. Given the cyclical nature of our economic fortunes, one period of boom will almost inevitably be followed by another period of relative reces- sion. Yet to plan for a project such as the cultural complex requires a very considerable period of time and this period will most probably span over a number of booms and recessions. If our planning, partic- ularly financial planning, for the cultural complex is now to be shelved indefinitely simply because we now happen to be in a recession, what I fear is that when we reach the next stage of boom we would not be